2 Months Until The Wedding/The Day Of The Engagement Announcement
The Bellucci Mansion was buzzing with anxiousness, the announcement that was made tonight would change the mafia world forever. The coming together of two powerful families had never happened before, it was unheard of. Giuliana sat at her vanity in her bedroom as her long, dark brown hair was curled into soft waves and her makeup was applied. She opted for a more natural look to accentuate her natural beauty.
Her evening gown was a mermaid style, wine colored strapless dress, with ruffles along the bottom. It was sophisticated, and made her look like a woman and not a little girl. She paired it with matching pointed toe pumps, as well as a diamond bracelet and the diamond stud earrings that Giovanni had gifted her four years prior. The party would take place at the country club owned by the Belluccis, the members of either mafia organization were told it was a party to keep ties between the two close. They had no idea how close the Bellucci Family and the Graziano Family would become.
The families arrived in separate limousines as to not give anything away, It was vital that everything go according to the plan that had been engineered by Salvatore, Anthony, and the consiglieres of both Families. The plan was simple; Giovanni would approach Giuliana in full view of everyone, he would then lead her to somewhere private and give her the engagement ring, they would return and inform her father that Giovanni had asked for her hand in marriage, he would be more than happy to consent, and finally Anthony and Salvatore would make the official announcement together. It was simple as it could get, completely foolproof.
Upon entering Briarwood Country Club, the family was greeted like royalty. It was rare that Salvatore allowed his daughters to attend mafia related events, he was a fierce protecter over his three girls. Even though he was forcing his youngest to marry someone she barely knew, he was confident that she would remain safe and out of harms way. His daughters had been threatened on more than one occasion, of course they were unaware. He would rather they be defiant to his rules than live in fear.
"Salvatore! Great party my amico," Anthony came up to greet his counterpart. "You have a beautiful establishment!"
"Thank you Tony," Salvatore retired the handshake. "It had always been a favorite of mine." The two wives began to converse, gushing about each other's dresses. In the midst of the conversations happening around them, Giovanni slyly made his way to stand next to Giuliana. "You look nice tonight Giuliana," he complimented. "Thank you, you do as well," she replied letting her eyes take in his classic black tuxedo and black bow tie. "Do you know what to do?" he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Yes," she nodded her head as she looked up at him. To the other guests they appeared to be blatantly flirting with their fathers only a mere few feet away.
"I have something for you," he said taking her dainty hand in his and lightly tugging her to follow him. She followed him as women tried to hide their obvious jealously, and men gawked at the youngest Bellucci daughter. Giovanni led her to an outside balcony, where twinkling lights that were decorating the outside area surrounded them. "I've got the ring," he said fishing out the velvet box from his pants pocket. "If you don't like it, I can take you to pick out something else," he handed the box to her and watched her open it. "Oh my God," she gasped as she admired the four carat diamond ring. It was cut in the shape of a rectangle and had small diamonds lining the entire band of the ring. Giovanni took the box from her and placed it on her ring finger. "It looks nice on you," he said letting her hand go. "Thank you Giovanni, I love it! It's perfect!' she beamed.
This was the first time that they had not had a chaperone, so he took the time to admire her remarkable beauty. She had olive-tan skin, long wavy dark hair, wide almond shaped brown eyes. Where her eyes had a twinkle in them, his had grown cold and hard. Where her smile lit up a room, his was reserved for special occasions. They looked like true Sicilians, and even though they were different in many ways they would compliment each other. Philomena had said how she thought they made an attractive couple when next to each other.
Giovanni continued to observe his future bride, she seemed to be complex. When they had seen each at their meetings/dates she seemed quiet and forced to start conversations with him. But now that they were alone, she was livelier.
"We should be getting back," Giovanni said. Once they walked back into the building they both knew that there was no going back, it was official. They stepped through the white french doors and back into the reception room, making it a point to head directly to her father. All eyes were on them, as their hands remained clasped and they came to a stop in front of Salvatore. "Don Bellucci," Giovanni started with the official name of respect that was given to him, "I have a request of you and your family."
"And what would that be?" Salvatore pretended. He then looked down and saw their hands joined together and the rather large engagement ring on his daughter's finger.
"I would like to ask for permission to marry Giuliana," Giovanni said. They spoke so that the conversation was supposed to be only overheard by the three of them, but the room quieted down as everyone strained to hear what was being said. "Marry Giuliana?" Salvatore's eyes shifted between the two that were standing in front of him. "And when would you marry her?"
"As soon as possible Don Bellucci," Giovanni continued. "I know that it is customary to ask for the father's permission and I apologize for not doing so." During that time Anthony stepped up and into the conversation as he too acted shocked, "Don Bellucci's daughter, Giovanni?"
"Yes sir," Giovanni answered.
"And what do you think Giuliana?" her father turned his attention, and the attention of the entire room onto her. "Is this what you want?"
"Yes Papa," she smiled up at Giovanni, "I want to marry Giovanni very much, and I want to do it as soon as we can. I don't want to wait any longer than necessary."
Salvatore released a sigh, "We will discuss this more later. For now I give my blessing to the marriage, what are your thoughts Don Graziano?" Anthony took on the role of being happy, and borderline excited about the engagement. "I think this is great news, I know Giuliana will make a great wife, as will Giovanni as a husband to her. You have no reason for concern my amico, she will be well taken care of."
"Fine," Salvatore finally allowed a smile to crack the scowl that had been on his face, "I hope you are happy Giuliana."
"Thank you Papa, I will be," Giuliana embraced her father tightly.
As she pulled away, she knew they had all played their parts well as the crowd of over a thousand began to cheer and offer their congratulations. The women who had been putting their jealousy on full display, suddenly began to gush over the future bride while the men offered Giovanni their congratulations and no longer openly stared at his fiancé. After all, Giuliana was not just the daughter of a mafia boss, she was going to be the wife of one also.
"A toast to Giovanni and Giuliana, may they have a happy life together!" John Caparelli, the consigliere for the Bellucci Family said. His niece came over to hug Giuliana, they had known each other since they were babies. Then her cousin Laura came over, she had gotten married five years before and Giuliana rarely if ever saw her anymore. Laura was Donatella's niece and had wed a soldier of the Bellucci Family.
Giuliana's siblings had come over to congratulate her, her sisters squealing with excitement and her brothers hugging her. Joe and Marco had come to accept the situation that their sister was in and decided it was best to trust their father/boss. Giovanni's two brothers also came to welcome their future sister-in-law into the Graziano family. Giuliana had only met Vincent and Dante once before, after her graduation and was unsure of what to think about them.
Philomena and Donatella stood off to the side dabbing tears away, as they watched their two children become officially engaged. It hadn't felt real until this moment. Neither of them had ever married a child off, so this would be a first for both of them.
The party was winding down just after midnight, Giuliana was tired and felt like she could lay down and fall asleep anywhere. The last couple hundred people were still milling around so the charade still had to be kept up. "Are you tired?" Giovanni leaned down to whisper in her ear. Her tired eyes looked up at him as she nodded her head 'yes.' "Do you want me to carry you to the car?" he asked. That suggestion woke her up and she caught him trying to hide his smile, as she looked at him in shock with wide eyes. "Don't worry Giuliana, I wouldn't embarrass you in front of all these people," he murmured into her ear. Her arm was tucked into his and she felt herself leaning into him more and more, as the night wore on. He didn't seem to mind, and let her rest herself against him.
"Is this almost over?" she asked quietly trying to catch a glimpse of the time on his silver watch. "Just a few more minutes," he said as another couple approached them to offer their congratulations. Giovanni handled most of the talking when people came up to them, Giuliana only had to smile and say 'thank you.'
"Hey Charlie good to see you!" Giovanni greeted yet another person, as Giuliana mustered up yet another smile.